


Still Light

by sugarcan3



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Attempt at Humor, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Crossover, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ravenclaw, Reader has Avatar powers :), Reader is awkward, Reader is close w/ Cedric, References to Depression, Sexual Humor, Slytherin, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Timeline What Timeline, We Die Like Men, hozier undertones, its okay to be confused, sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27749971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarcan3/pseuds/sugarcan3
Summary: The (L/N) family was not widely known across the wizarding world, mostly considering the family wasn’t pureblood, but also because they were an American family that had suddenly moved to the United Kingdom one day. However, they were known for their advanced magic - and of course, their rude, brutally honest personality. Throughout the years, everyone in the (L/N) family had been sorted into Slytherin (maybe it was on account that when they were teenagers, they were considered by many to be broody and short-tempered). It had always been Slytherin... until it hadn’t been.This is a timeline crossover where Tom Riddle is separate from Voldemort, and he's not evil. But he still has issues. Like, lots of them.Hope you enjoy :,)
Relationships: Cedric Diggory & Reader, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Tom Riddle/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, uhm I'll be honest, I've never used AO3 before but I'm really excited to because it's so clean compared to *cough cough* Tumblr and Wattpad... 
> 
> This is the first time I've ever posted works like these so please be kind to me, I'm not entirely sure how notes work and I from what I have seen from my time perusing the site, I hope this formatting works and all. 
> 
> If you guys have any suggestions, comments or concerns, please please let me know! I wanna make this first story as cool and sweet as possible. :) 
> 
> Love yaaaa!
> 
> First chapter is an intro to reader's POV and all that. Enjoy.

The (L/N) family was not widely known across the wizarding world, mostly considering the family wasn’t pureblood, but also because they were an American family that had suddenly moved to the United Kingdom one day. However, they were known for their advanced magic - and of course, their rude, brutally honest personality. Throughout the years, everyone in the (L/N) family had been sorted into Slytherin (maybe it was on account that when they were teenagers, they were considered by many to be broody and short-tempered). It had always been Slytherin... until it hadn’t been. 

* * *

When (Y/N) (L/N) came along, it was a whole different story. Her first day at Hogwarts will always be freshly embedded into her mind. She could recall when she was called upon to be sorted into her respectful house, the Sorting Hat having been delicately placed on top of her head. The fabric dropped down to her nose as it was way too big for her, blocking her view of the crowd in front of her. Not even one second had passed before the hat loudly announced ‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ to everyone, shocking the professors and even the young girl herself. 

“Is that really true?” She heard a young boy’s voice come from a Slytherin table. He had platinum blonde hair, and it looked like a constant frown was plastered on his face. Another boy sat next to him, his head buried deep inside a book. He had dark brown, slightly curly hair, and didn’t even bother giving a glance to his friend next to him. “This is the first time this has happened in the (L/N) family, if I’m right.” (Y/N) knew they were first-years, just like her, but she couldn’t remember their names for the life of her.

As the kids clapped, (Y/N) took the Sorting Hat off of her head and held it in her small hands.

“I’m sorry if this is rude, but are you sure I’m Hufflepuff? All of my family is Slytherin,” she asked, wanting answers.

“Oh no my dear girl, I have not made a mistake. You are exactly where you should be.” It replied, before being taken away by Professor McGonagall. The older woman shooed (Y/N) away, telling her to go to the Hufflepuff table.

The young girl was greeted by cheers from her table. _Dear girl._ She had never been called that before. It left a weird, uncomfortable feeling in her chest, but she shook it off and sat next to a boy who seemed a little bit older. He welcomed her to the table with a friendly smile, patting the seat next to him.

“Happy to be in Hufflepuff?” He asked her. He had fluffy brown hair that was mostly parted to the left, and kind grey eyes that bore into her own. His boyish features made it clear he was still young, but incredibly cute - a few girls were staring at him. “I’m Cedric, Cedric Diggory.” 

(Y/N) introduced herself in return, shaking hands with him as she was taught to do back in the muggle world. 

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be sorted into Hufflepuff. The rest of my family was always sorted into Slytherin, so this is… a change, to say the least.” 

“Well, hopefully a change that’s welcomed. Where do you come from? Your accent isn’t british.” 

“I’m from America, I grew up there most of my life and then I think- two years ago…? My family moved to the UK because a lot of our family is here too, and also for my education, because it’s closer to Scotland or something like that. My mom said that Ilvermorny is just ‘not enough’, in her words.” 

“Wow, seems you live a pretty strict life.” Cedric plopped mashed potatoes on his plate, followed by vegetables and a few pieces of chicken. (Y/N), not wanting to give off a bad impression, followed his lead, but put less food on her plate than her new friend had. Her mother always restricted her amount of food, for whatever reason, and (Y/N) wasn’t about to break that habit just yet. She didn’t want to make her mother angry. 

“What about you? What year are you in?” She asked the boy in return.

Cedric responded eagerly, happy to make conversation as everybody else was in the hall. The room was buzzing with life, new friends being made left and right while teachers mumbled amongst themselves, some smiling, and some not. (Y/N) nodded along to the words the boy was saying, listening eagerly and grinning when he told a funny story. She already felt like he was going to be a big part of her life. 

* * *

The tables were mostly cleared by dinner and dessert at that point, (Y/N)’s eyelids feeling heavy as she leaned against her newfound friend’s shoulder - he seemed to provide her an incredible amount of comfort, like an older brother would. She had possibly eaten more than her mother would’ve liked, but the desserts seemed too yummy to pass up. She never got this food at home. 

“Are you okay?” Cedric asked her quietly. She nodded weakly, still holding onto his arm. “I think we’re heading to our rooms soon, so stay awake. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to carry you.”

They both chuckled at that, the young girl straightening herself back up again, lightly slapping her cheeks to wake herself up more. 

“Alright, new Hufflepuffs,” The prefect started, “time to wrap things up and head to our dormitories. Hope you’re ready to get comfortable! Now, follow me.”

The new students got up, following right behind the prefects like lost little puppies. (Y/N) had a hard time letting go of Cedric’s arm, her only current source of comfort. She didn’t want him to disappear on her. He gave her a reassuring squeeze to let him know he would see her again, and ushered her to follow the new students. The anxiety brewing in her belly grew a bit more as her friend was finally out of sight, but as soon as she turned her head around to follow the prefects, her eyes widened at the architecture of the building, venturing the halls of the castle. 

Eventually, the prefect stopped at a load of barrels, turning back to the kids following them.

“Alright, now. I need you all to pay attention, because if you forget the password, you won’t be able to get into your rooms.” They tapped the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, which made the lid swing open. “You must remember to do it to the tune of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’.” 

Each kid made their way through, being sent to their rooms. 

(Y/N) came up to her room shared with a few other girls. She felt more anxious, as she hadn’t seen Cedric anywhere in the Common Room. 

To distract herself from her anxious thoughts, she observed her new bedroom, her bed being near a window. Leaves and vines wrapped around some of the pillars of her bed, and as she neared the barrier between Hogwarts and the outside, she noticed books and little plants in pots rested on the floor nearby. Noticing succulents, she smiled - she knew she was in the right place. Her knowledge of plants was vast, and she knew exactly how to take care of nearly every muggle plant. When it came to the plants in this world though… it was definitely new to her. A tap on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts, and she turned around to face a girl grinning at her.

“Hello, who are you?” Her british accent was thick, but it was nothing (Y/N) wasn’t used to - growing up in London kind of does that to you. 

“I’m (Y/N),” the girl introduced herself, “and you?” 

“I’m Natalie!” She exclaimed. “You have such a lovely name. Hey, do you have a pet? Why are you looking so intensely at the plants? Aren’t you supposed to be in Slytherin?” The onslaught of questions caught (Y/N) off guard, but thankfully, she was patient, a trait that was incredibly rare in her family. 

“Thank you, you do too. And no, I don’t. I just really like plants. I’d think so too, but the Sorting Hat said otherwise.” (Y/N) answered the questions carefully, and in order, making sure not to set off Natalie. 

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Goodnight!”

So. 

That was that. 

_Was everyone this nice over here? Were they all this enthusiastic?_

A warm feeling bubbled in her chest. She liked it. 

As she unpacked her things, her tiredness took over. She had plans to get to know Hogwarts more, along with her new roommates, but she had been moving around all day, so her body and her mind were both exhausted. She quickly changed into her pyjamas, brushing her teeth, then slid under the warm and soft covers. They were heaven compared to the itchy, raw, thin blankets her parents gave her to sleep with at home. 

Speaking of her parents - they would be disappointed in her when they found out she wasn’t in Slytherin. Unfortunately, it didn’t take a lot for them to be disappointed, so it wouldn’t be anything new to her. But their reactions could be scary - the vague memories of yelling and glass shattering on the floor when she received a B on one of her muggle tests was something she preferred to keep buried in the back in her brain, hidden away. Would they send her owls or howlers at her time here at Hogwarts? She couldn’t bear the thought of it - what would her classmates think if they heard her mother yelling at her over a stupid piece of _paper_? 

Suddenly, she felt wide awake. 

So much for getting some good sleep. 

* * *

The first time (Y/N) had met Ron Weasley, she was a few weeks into her first year, running late to her Defence Against the Dark Arts class. For some reason, Professor Quirrell gave her the creeps, and she didn’t want to get on his bad side. 

(Y/N) was rounding a corner before she bumped into something- no, some _one_. The person who she had bumped into must’ve been holding stacks of parchment paper, because suddenly they were all over the floor. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” The girl exclaimed, immediately getting on her knees to pick up the mess she had caused. 

“No no, don’t worry- I wasn’t looking where I was going,” the boy said, also getting down to the floor to pick up the rest of the papers. “It was my fault.” 

“I wasn’t looking where I was going either. It’s on the both of us, how about we settle on that?” She smiled at the red-headed boy, handing him the mess they had both collected. 

“Sure, that works too.” He gave her an awkward grin back, fumbling with the papers in his hands before getting it all together in a some-what neat stack. 

“I’m (Y/N).” She said as she got back up, walking with him. 

“I’m Ron, Ron Weasley,” he introduced himself. “Why were you in such a hurry?”  
“I had to get to my… oh my god. My Defence Against the Dark Arts class- I have to go, I’m sorry! I’d love to talk more, but I’m terrified of being later than I already am. I’ll see you some other time!”

Ron didn’t have enough time to get a response in before the girl beside him disappeared, running into the crowd of stressed students. 

* * *

The next time she had seen Ron was the following day, who she had seen going into the same class that she had. How had she not realized he was in there sooner, with the bright red hair and all? 

There were no assigned seats so far in the school year (at least for this class), so she decided to sit next to him. Ron immediately took notice of the familiar girl as she plonked herself into the seat, putting her quills and papers on the desk. 

“Hey, I remember you!” The redhead said. “(Y/N).” 

“Yes, how are you?” 

“I’m alright, just dreading this class,” potions, “I’m not the best at it.” 

“No worries, me neither. We can help each other out!” She smiled at him. 

“I’d like that.” He seemed to be searching the class for someone, his eyes finally settling on a girl and a boy. 

“Those your friends?” She asked him. He nodded in response. 

“I kinda came here late so I guess they partnered up. Sorry, I hope that wasn’t rude! I have no problem working with you.” Ron exclaimed in response. “Ugh, I suck at words sometimes.” 

“I can’t blame you,” (Y/N) giggled, holding no remorse over the boy’s words, “words suck too.” 

“Would you like to meet my friends after class?”

“Yes, I’d love to, thank you!”  
After class had ended, and Ron inevitably exploded a potion in his face, but he wasn’t the only one to do that. Some kid named Seamus did too. Ron guided (Y/N) out of the classroom, waiting by the door for his two friends who seemed to still be cleaning up their area, though they hadn’t made as much of a mess as she and Ron had. 

“Ah, here they are.” He smiled at them, waving them over.” 

“Who’s this, Ron?” The girl with puffy hair smiled politely at (Y/N), obviously reserved. 

“I’m (Y/N) (L/N), it’s nice to meet you.” Said girl held her hand out for the latter to shake, who eagerly did so once she realized she was kind to her friend. 

“I’m Hermione Granger, and likewise.” 

Then, (Y/N) turned to the boy who seemed to be patting his hair down, carefully covering his forehead. He seemed to notice all the kid’s eyes on him, and quickly cleared his throat as his cheeks turned pink from slight embarrassment. 

He held his hand out as he introduced himself. 

“I’m Harry. Harry Potter.”

  
  



	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story follows the books, movies, and also my own plot! Sorry for the confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm so sorry for disappearing for a couple days with no updates, but here's the next chapter - and it's longer, too! Yay!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy and are staying safe in these trying times.

Growing up, (Y/N) had never been extremely skilled in wand practice. It was something she was always chastised for, her parents' disappointment apparent on their faces every time she’d fail to do Wingardium Leviosa. No matter how hard she trained, no matter how long she tried, progress was slow. (Y/N) felt like a failure, a let-down, because she couldn’t live up to her parents’ expectations of her. 

Her mother was a pureblood, and her father a muggle. How they had come to meet, or even  _ fall in love,  _ nobody knew. The maternal side of the family had a running theme of marrying strictly purebloods, until recently. It was a whole ordeal, (Y/N) had heard the story many times from her angry grandmother, before she had passed away. 

_ “I can’t believe your mother. Such a disappointment.” Her grandmother ranted, voice frail and weak. (Y/N) was nursing a cup of hot chocolate, one big, fluffy marshmallow floating in the middle of it. The heat of it burned her palms, but she didn’t want to seem rude to her grandmother by putting it aside.  _

_ “But you won’t be the same, will you, (Y/N)?” Her grandmother cupped her granddaughter’s cheek, softly rubbing her skin, smiling sweetly at her. “You’ll be perfect. I just know it,” her grip tightened as she frowned, “you will.”  _

_ (Y/N)’s eyes widened a bit, but she caught herself before giving anything away. She nodded. Her grandmother seemed pleased with this response, as she let go of her cheek and leaned back in her chair.  _

_ “I can almost picture it… a big, perfect wedding. You walk hand in hand with grandfather,” she liked to pretend (Y/N)’s father didn’t exist, “and greet your husband at the altar.” _

_ To be fair, a wedding sounded nice. But a big wedding? The amount of people… it was too much. All her life, she had been surrounded by adults who only cared about money and popularity. Her parents’ ‘friends’ constantly bragged about their newest, lavish home. They were always too big to feel like an actual home. (Y/N) hated it. She didn’t want to be surrounded by hundreds of people when it would be her big day. She just wanted her friends. And maybe her parents. That would be appropriate, wouldn’t it? It’d be strange if she didn’t invite them to her wedding.  _

_ “Well, it’s time for me to go.” Her grandmother suddenly said, slowly rising from her comfortable loveseat. “My time is nearly up.” _

_ ‘What do you mean?’ was what (Y/N) wanted to say, but no words seemed to come out of her mouth. Again, she opened her mouth, ready to ask the question, but it was complete silence. She felt her anxiety rise as her grandmother disappeared into the shadows of the hall, where her mother slowly stalked out of it, walking towards her.  _

_ “Hello, (Y/N). We need to go back to the house.” She said, roughly grabbing her daughter’s wrist.  _

_ (Y/N) wanted to say her touch hurt her, it felt like her hand was going numb, but she couldn’t vocalise anything. She wanted to scream, to tug and run far away from her parents. She didn’t like her mother’s touch. She didn’t like touch.  _

_ “Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” _

“Let me go.” 

(Y/N) woke up suddenly, her eyes jerking open. Cold sweat ran down from her neck to her back, a wave of nausea hitting her as she sat up. 

She rubbed her eyes of sleep, hugging her legs close to her body as she willed her heartbeat to slow down. Finally, when (Y/N) felt better, she sighed out, laying back in her bed. Lately, nightmares seemed to plague her mind more and more often, and the only way to swerve around those was to keep herself awake. Considering she was slipping in a few of her classes in third year, most of her time was spent studying and doing homework, as well as practicing spells here and there. 

(Y/N) found herself having trouble falling back asleep, so she looked around the room she was currently staying in. The Weasleys were kind enough to take her in for the week before the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Ron, her friend of a couple years, had invited her to come along with him, as both Harry and Hermione were too. They were all very close, and (Y/N) had brought it upon herself to invite her bestest friend of all time, Cedric Diggory, as well. 

She had steadily become closer with the trio, more so with Ron, because of their shared clumsiness. Something about the red-headed boy seemed to draw her closer to him, his aloof personality a comfort to her. However, he wasn’t anywhere close to being as awesome as Cedric was. At least, not to (Y/N). 

Recently, her anxiety seemed to be never ending - in the past years, Voldemort seemed to make a comeback. (Y/N) hadn’t heard of him before, not until she went to Hogwarts, where rumours spread quickly of ‘the boy who lived’. She hadn’t known it was Harry until she met Ron, who told her everything there was to know about the ‘chosen one’. Because of her closeness with the trio, her worries became more apparent as their lives were now in danger. But those thoughts would not help her calm down from her nightmares, so she tried to distract herself.

Looking around her, she was reminded of how they were all staying in Ron’s room, Harry and him sleeping on his bed while Hermione and (Y/N) shared a comfortable mattress on the floor. The moonlight came shining through the window of the room, illuminating Crookshanks who was in a deep sleep. The rest of the house was dead quiet, which was quite surprising. Usually, the twins would be stirring up mayhem, no matter the hour. 

“Are you alright?” A quiet voice whispered into the night. Hermione. 

“Yes. Why’re you awake?” (Y/N) replied, her voice ridden with sleep. Their voices were hushed, and considering Ron was such a heavy sleeper, there was no doubt he wouldn’t hear. Harry, on the other hand… 

“I heard shuffling beside me.” Oh god, had she stirred Hermione from her sleep? Guilt passed through her entire being, her mind immediately going to beat her up for her mistake. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. Would you like some water? I have a water bottle right next to me.” 

Hermione was so kind to (Y/N). She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve it, but it was refreshing after being surrounded by constant passive-aggressiveness. 

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go back to sleep, it’s only five in the morning.” 

“Alright, I will. Goodnight.” 

Sleep never came for (Y/N). 

  
  


* * *

“Well!” Molly Weasley clapped her hands together. Everyone was in the main room, prepared for the journey ahead. “Now that everybody is here, all we need to wait for is the arrival of the Diggory family.”

The wait proved to be short, as Cedric had knocked on the door not only five minutes after Molly’s gathering. (Y/N) excitedly went up to the door, opening it up to greet her best friend. 

“Cedric!” She exclaimed. The boy opened up his arms, preparing himself for the killer hug he would receive. 

The brunette took the young teen in his arms, twirling her around in the air before setting her on the ground to let her take him into a bone-crushing hug. 

“(Y/N)! How are you?” 

“I’m good.” Her voice was muffled as she shoved her face into his chest, letting the moment sink in. She hadn’t seen the boy - almost adult - in months, and she missed every part of him. 

Over the summer break, puberty hit Cedric like a truck. His jawline became more pronounced, and he grew a few inches taller. Considering he was also on the Quidditch team, his muscles were more defined and he was much stronger than (Y/N) last remembered. 

“How are you?” She asked her best friend. 

“I’m good, I’m super excited for the game today.” 

“Have a fun time!” They heard Molly call from behind them, who closed the door. She made it clear she wouldn’t be coming with them, not interested in the Quidditch game in the least. 

The rest of the Weasley family, Harry and Hermione had joined the group outside, starting to walk towards their intended destination. 

The dreaded portkey.

Arthur, Ron’s father, had explained to (Y/N) how portkeys worked. She didn’t like the sound of it, to be honest. 

“Now then, we’re here. Everybody ready?” (Y/N) gulped as she listened to him drone about the logistics and where they would arrive. Everyone nodded, before the process started.

To (Y/N), it felt like the whole world was spinning around her a thousand times in just a second. She never knew she would miss the feeling of the grass beneath her  _ this  _ much. 

A second later, she fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her lungs. 

“Oh, bloody hell!” She heard Ron, not too far away from her. She had no doubt he suffered the same fate as her. 

Cedric and his father, as perfect as always, flawlessly landed onto the ground, obviously used to the process. 

(Y/N) lended a hand to Harry, who had seemingly knocked his head on the grass. 

“At least it was a softer blow than concrete?” She tried to convince him, which made them both chuckle. 

“Nice trip?” (Y/N) heard Cedric from behind her. She turned around, playfully glaring at him. 

“Not all of us are gods with portkeys. God, that sucked.” 

“Tell me about it.” Ron groaned from beside her, rubbing his sore arm. 

The group made their way into the area where they would be able to set up their tents. 

The area itself was gorgeous. The grass looked soft to the touch, like animal’s fur. It was a cloudy day, but the clouds formed in such a way that made them look magical. (Y/N) just wanted to reach up and touch them, they looked so fluffy. If only she had brought her broom, she thought to herself. 

Multiple tents were already set up, even though the group had set off early in the morning to secure a spot. It seemed like many people were anticipating the game, bets being made left and right while kids joked around, running around the field. 

(Y/N) helped with setting the tent up, Arthur casting an extension charm to make sure everyone would fit. After that, the four teens went on a small walk to go get water.

“So, are you excited for this year?” (Y/N) asked her friends. 

“I am! I wonder what new spells we’ll learn this year.” Hermione replied. It was typical, but (Y/N) adored listening to her talk about the spells. She explained it in such a way that made it  _ actually  _ interesting. And unlike her teachers, Hermione was patient with teaching her how to properly cast them. 

“I kinda wanna see what the Quidditch teams will look like.” Harry commented. 

“Me too.” Ron added on. “How about you, (Y/N)?”

The girl shrugged in response. Honestly, she’d work with whatever thrown at her. 

“I kinda wanna see if I can make new friends.”

“Aww… are we not good enough for you?” Ron jokingly said, leaning into (Y/N)’s side.

“No! You’re more than good enough - I just want to get to know more people.” 

“Hopefully not Draco Malfoy. I don’t know what we’d do if you went over to the Slytherin side.” 

“Slytherin isn’t that bad, Ron… it’s just Draco and his posse who are assholes.” 

“That’s what you think. I don’t get how you have such an optimistic mind when it comes to these things. Houses should just… stick together.” 

“Really? But then we wouldn’t be friends.” 

“Oh shit, true. I take it back then.” 

“Who’d you like to get to know better?” Harry asked (Y/N). 

“I don’t know, honestly…” 

“How about that one guy, Tom Riddle? If you really think Slytherin isn’t that bad, start with him. He’s got the highest marks in practically all the classes, but nobody’s been close enough to actually be his friend… besides Draco, but I doubt he actually considers him a friend. Tom hasn’t even looked in the way of a girl.” Hermione butted in, rambling about her mark-rival. 

“Maybe I will. I can prove to you that not all Slytherins are bad. And actually, you know what? I will. I’ll prove you wrong.” 

“Fine, bet.” 

Ron and (Y/N) shook hands, grinning at each other. Oh,  _ it was on _ . 

The group of friends had finally collected their water, heading back to their tent. The air was getting cold, the wind whipping at the tree branches more viciously than before. The warmth of the tent was greeted with open arms by (Y/N), who immediately ran to her bag to grab a comfortable, thick sweater out of it. Her arms slipped through the soft wool, her smiling face popping out of the head of the sweater, happy to have some source of comfort to her in these weird times. 

“Hey, is (Y/N) in there?” She heard a familiar voice from outside. 

She walked up to the entrance, lifting the fabric to reveal none other than Cedric Diggory. 

“Yep, she is.” She grinned at him. “Care to leave a message?”

“Well, if the fair lady is available, I’d like to go on a nice stroll.” He chuckled, talking in a stereotypical, overly posh voice. He held a hand out to her, waiting for her to grab it.

“I’m sure she’d love to.” (Y/N) softly placed her hand in his, as he pulled her out of the tent. 

She was thankful she had put on her sweater, as the cold air was slightly biting at her skin. She walked closer to Cedric, who didn’t seem to mind her clinginess. Not many people were out at this hour, as it was dark. There were some fires set up here and there, small groups huddled together for warmth and friendly conversation, but the duo continued onwards, walking in circles around the camp. 

“So, what are you planning for this year?” Her soft voice broke the comfortable silence that had set upon them. 

“I don’t know, honestly. It’s my last year here, and I just feel like I haven’t fulfilled what I’ve been meaning to. I don’t know what it is, either. It just feels like I haven’t done enough.” 

“What about all the Quidditch games?” 

“I mean, sure, they’re exciting. Quite bloody satisfying when you win, too.” He chuckled before continuing. “But it doesn’t feel challenging enough. I want something that will make me prove who I am.” 

“Well, I doubt Hogwarts will host anything crazy this year. The only thing that happens is the Quidditch tournaments and the occasional reappearance of Voldermort.” 

“Don’t say his name!” Cedric hissed at the girl beside him. A flash of fear fell upon (Y/N)’s face, the familiar emotion making her feel like she was at home all over again. 

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” Her voice trembled. Cedric immediately realized his mistake.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to snap.” 

“It’s okay.” 

But honestly, it wasn’t. (Y/N)’s body was trembling, and even though she would never admit it, she was afraid. She didn’t want friends who were like her parents, who always yelled and screamed and talked about how disappointed they were. 

They started walking back to the Weasley’s tent together in silence, thankfully. (Y/N) didn’t want to talk. As she approached the entrance of the tent, she felt Cedric squeeze her hand softly, almost as if it was another apology. A silent apology. She squeezed back, before grinning at him and bidding him goodnight. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day, and she couldn’t wait for it. 

* * *

The inside of the Weasley tent was bustling with noise the next morning. The twins had jumped on Ron to wake him up, which robbed him of his precious sleep - obviously, he was pissed. However, the anticipation of the competitive game coming up might make up for that. 

“I’ll bet that Bulgaria will win.” He said with a smile on his face. He had the utmost confidence in his words, his back straightened in pride. 

“Are you sure? They’re both really good teams.” Ginny said, breaking her brother out of his fantasy of playing Quidditch professionally. For the past couple of days, he had been rambling to (Y/N) about how excited he was to practice the game and become better at it. Sometimes, the two of them stayed up late to talk about the future together, though the conversations delved in deep subjects as their minds got more and more tired, the honesty creeping out. 

“Shut up, Ginny. We’ll see who takes the game home.” He replied, poking her in the face. 

(Y/N) had been greeted by Arthur, who was holding a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of cereal in his hands, handing it over to her. 

“We better be eating well. This game will last a long time.” He commented, (Y/N) nodding along in understanding. 

As everyone ate their breakfast, the sun started poking through the clouds, and the air was getting warmer. 

“I got really good seats, everyone. I can’t wait to show you.” Arthur said to the kids who were following behind him, eager to see the game start. The excitement of the crowd helped fuel their energies even more, the field covered in people who were finding their respectful seats. 

Arthur had managed to land Top Box seats, thanks to his friends. Eventually, the seats filled up, and unfortunately, a certain family showed up. 

“Malfoy.” Harry mumbled under his breath, but (Y/N) was sitting right next to him so she heard him, clear as day.

In all of his narcissistic glory, Lucius Malfoy had shown up with Narcissa and Draco. They were all dressed in fancy, obviously expensive clothes, flaunting their money and power on everyone below them. 

“What’s this?” Draco’s voice made (Y/N) want to instantly curl in on herself. “The Weasleys here? Did you steal your tickets, then?” 

His words were incredibly tame to what he could have said, probably out of respect to not seem bad in front of Cornelius Fudge, who sat in the Top Box as well. 

“If you must know, we were offered these tickets.” Ron politely replied, however the look on his face clearly demonstrated his distaste for the blonde boy in front of him. 

“Obviously out of pity, then.” 

“Shut up, Malfoy.” Harry seethed to him, before shutting himself up to not draw too much attention to his friends. 

Narcissa dragged the boys away, which finally let the tense air dissipate... slowly. Arthur was obviously embarrassed by this interaction, his hands held in between his legs as he tried looking anywhere else besides the people surrounding him. The twins were annoyed, to say the least, but they instantly went back to their usual banter. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, Hermione and (Y/N)’s mood had been dampened by the Malfoys. They always seemed to have a certain way to ruin a day. 

However, they couldn’t ponder on those moments for too long, as Ireland and Bulgaria came out of the stands, mounting their brooms. The game was on. 

In the end, Ireland won, even though Viktor Krum had caught the golden snitch. Cheers exploded from everywhere, the loud noise catching (Y/N) off guard even though she was expecting it. She was never a big fan of loud noises. 

The Weasleys headed back to their tent, George and Fred celebrating a bet that they had won as discreetly as possible so they wouldn’t alert their father of their antics. 

The group was still running on the adrenaline of the game, Ron running around, ranting about his newfound interest - Viktor Krum. 

“There’s no one like Krum!” He exclaimed, his brothers laughing along with his words. 

A loud noise came from outside the tent, but (Y/N) guessed it was the rest of the crowd celebrating the big win. She wasn’t too worried, seeing as Arthur went outside to investigate it. 

“Krum? Dumb Krum?” George antagonized his sibling, obviously getting a kick out of it too, seeing Ron’s face redden with anger. 

“He’s like a bird… he’s more than an athlete!” Fred covered Ron with his flag, trying to shut him up of his stupid revelry. He quickly recovered though, immediately throwing it on the ground. “He’s an artist.” 

“Oh, you’re in  _ love,  _ Ron!” Ginny giggled at her own words. 

The whole tent burst out into laughter, starting to sing, as the screams outside got louder. (Y/N) had a confused smile on her face, not able to hear the panic yet. 

“Sounds like the Irish know how to celebrate.” Fred said. 

Unfortunately, the good mood was tainted as soon as Arthur ran back inside the tent, a panicked look on his face.

“We need to go.  _ Now. _ ” His voice was serious - there was obviously no room to joke around. 

“What? Why?” Ginny asked, disappointment clear as day. 

“There’s an attack.” 

They all ran outside, and the chaos was heart-wrenching. People were running around, flashes of green and red here and there - the screams from earlier were not overjoyed, but instead, terrified. 

Percy and Bill, the older brothers of the Weasley family (besides Charlie), ran up to their father. They talked in hushed tones before nodding to each other, parting ways. Arthur turned to the younger teens, looking over each and every one of them. 

“You need to run to the forest. Go hide. Don’t look back. We’ll be fine.” He ordered them. 

Sounds of protests from Ron and Ginny rang out, but they were quickly silenced by their father once again speaking up; 

“I can’t let anything happen to you. Your mother would kill me. Go,  _ now _ !” 

The kids turned around and ran towards the forest, not giving enough time for a second thought to their decision. The yells behind them faded out as they made it into the forest. 

Sweat ran down (Y/N)’s forehead as she tried catching her breath, before continuing on. She didn’t notice Ron tripping on a branch behind her, or Fred, George and Ginny disappearing after rounding a corner. As soon as she took another pause to catch herself, she noticed she was completely and utterly alone. 

Her head was spinning as she cried out for her friends, desperately trying to find them. Her heart beat wildly as different scenarios played out in her mind, all running back to the thought that they had gotten hurt. And oh god- where was Cedric?! 

However, she was shaken out of her thoughts as soon as she heard a branch snap behind her. Had the Death Eaters found her? Her instincts quickly kicked into flight, as she hid behind a tree, trying to shield herself from the sight of the enemy. 

Their footsteps were slow and calculated. Whoever was near her was trying to stay quiet. Taking her chances, (Y/N) took a quick peek from her hiding place, trying to identify who it was. 

Dark brown, slightly wavy hair poked out of a hood of a hoodie, their wand out for offence -  _ or defence?  _ \- at the ready. (Y/N) quickly deemed them a threat, their suspicious actions letting her mind quickly jump to conclusions. 

“Come out.” The voice said, deep. It was a man, or a teenager, to be more specific. 

The young girl’s heart seemed to jump in her throat - she had been found out. Well, no use for hiding now, was there? But unless the boy was superstitious… she could keep hiding. So she chose the latter. 

“Where are you? I know you’re there.” 

No response. He huffed and continued walking, and (Y/N) decided to follow him as discreetly as possible. A few minutes in, and suddenly he was out of her vision, and she quickly panicked as a hand threw her back onto the ground, the moonlight shining directly in her eyes. 

“How dare you follow me?” He hissed at her, wand pointed and digging into her neck. 

“I’m- I’m sorry! I didn’t know if you were good or not-” (Y/N) replied quickly, panicked at the boy on top of her. 

“Wait.” The pressure of the wand on her neck slightly lightened, but it was still there. “I know you.” 

The boy took his hood off, quickly revealing who it was. His sharp jawline and handsome looks were known across Hogwarts for a good reason. 

“Tom Riddle…?” (Y/N) mumbled. 

Tom sighed in irritation before completely getting off the girl, his wand back in his pocket. 

“What are you doing here?” His voice was angry, annoyed. Why was he angry at her? 

“I was running away from the chaos. I split up from my friends- I don’t know where they are. And- I could ask you the same thing.” Her voice was completely quiet, compared to his. Though hers had a slight shake to it, the anxiety was clear. 

“It’s none of your business.” He seethed. That just made (Y/N) more curious than before. “Let’s get you back to your friends.” 

She got back up on her own, Tom not offering a hand or anything to help out. Dirt covered her back, as well as her arms. There were scratches here and there, ones that she hadn’t noticed until one started stinging a bit, blood leaking down her cheek. She must’ve gotten caught on a branch with her usual clumsiness. 

The two walked in tense silence, the only noise being their footsteps crunching down on the small twigs here and there. Tom sported a frown on his face, his eyebrows knitted together. (Y/N) was looking out for any noise, any voices, that could lead her back to her pack of friends. 

Eventually, an exclamation rang out a few metres away, (Y/N) immediately going towards it, only to be held back by Tom, who grabbed her arm roughly. However, his touch wasn’t… bruising. It was nice. He was trying to keep her safe. 

He held a finger to his mouth, silently telling her to stay quiet. She nodded, as the two of them hid behind a bush to identify the source of the noise. 

“Cedric.” (Y/N) mumbled, before running towards him. “Cedric!”  
Said boy turned around, his face lighting up as he recognized the girl approaching him. He ran to her as well, immediately pulling her in for a light hug.

“Where are the others?” He mumbled, brushing her wild hair out of her eyes. She hadn’t noticed how tangled it had gotten after her little run-in with Tom Riddle. Speaking of which, he was coming out of his hiding place too, trailing behind (Y/N) slowly. “What are  _ you _ doing here?” 

Cedric didn’t have such fond patience with Slytherins, much more if they were conceited, egotistical Slytherins - which could perfectly describe Tom. 

“He helped me find you. He’s nice.” (Y/N) grinned at Tom, who just rolled his eyes in response. 

“If you two are okay heading back on your own, I’ll be finding my own posse now.” Said boy grumbled, but Cedric quickly shut that thought down. 

“No. You’re coming back with us, I’m the oldest here and if anything happens I’ll probably get blamed for it. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you two.” 

(Y/N) wasn’t exceptionally worried around Cedric, but she didn’t want to seem clingy in front of other people, so she stepped away from him. As they walked towards the end of the forest and back into the field, the cut on her cheek seemed to sting even more than before. 

She couldn’t dwell on the thought of pain for too long though, because soon enough the sky lit up in green and dark grey, hearing someone shriek in fear as the Dark Mark appeared in the sky. The image seemed to only welcome death and despair, leaving a sinking feeling in (Y/N)’s chest. She had only ever heard rumours of the mark, something Death Eaters used to prove their loyalty to Voldemort. She didn’t know how frightening it could be seeing it in person, words only did so much to describe the threatening aura of the mark. Tom frowned at the sky, meanwhile Cedric only froze. The trio of them were speechless, feeling absolutely hopeless. They were just a bunch of kids, there wasn’t much they could do. 

But the Ministry of Magic could. 

Men and women, dressed in cloaks and fancy uniforms suddenly appeared, quickly casting a stunning spell at any person that moved. Soon enough, the screams stopped. (Y/N) could spot Ron in the crowd of people, but she didn’t want to leave Cedric behind. Or Tom - though she doubted he cared if she’d leave or not. 

She tugged on Cedric’s arm, bringing his attention to her. 

“Ron’s over there. I’m going to check on them, alright?” Her friend simply nodded, before she turned around to Tom. “Thanks for helping me out.” 

He didn’t have enough time to reply, as (Y/N) ran towards her friends who seemed to be jittery and anxious. 

“(Y/N)!” Hermione exclaimed, once her eyes set upon her. She immediately gave her a hug, burying her neck into the girl’s hair. “I was so worried. I’m so sorry.” 

Why was Hermione worried? (Y/N) was completely fine, save for the few scratches and cuts here and there. Her parents couldn’t have cared less, as long as she came back to them. 

“Why are you sorry?” She replied, breaking the hug before it lasted too long. “It was a mess, we couldn’t have been perfect with keeping track of each other.” 

Her reasoning seemed to calm her friend down, even if it was just by a bit. 

The four teenagers talked amongst themselves before a voice spoke up from behind Ron. 

“Harry Potter.” 

A grim, dark, and firm voice. It reminded (Y/N) of her father, who rarely showed any emotion other than anger or disappointment. 

“Is this your wand?” The man, Barty Crouch, held Harry’s wand out, who nodded in response. “It cast the Dark Mark.” 

“Wh-what? But I lost it earlier, in the woods, I haven’t seen it until now.” 

“I’m not accusing you of anything, Mr. Potter. I just wanted to let you know this… this elf,” he pointed to the creature (Y/N) hadn’t even noticed, “casted it.” The elf seemed anxious, their legs trembling with every word the old man spoke.

“Pardon?” 

“She casted it.” 

“Winky, is this true?” (Y/N) guessed that was the elf’s name. She didn’t reply. “I don’t think Winky would’ve done that.”

The back and forth was exhausting, and it finally settled on Crouch firing Winky on the spot. Hermione protested, understandably outraged at the situation. (Y/N) didn’t feel like she had much to say, so she let Hermione do the talking for her. Eventually though, Arthur had enough of the arguing and dragged the group back to their tent. 

They were supposed to fall back asleep, as they would be heading back to the portkey to get back to the Weasley’s home. However, after an event like that, (Y/N) found it hard to fall back asleep. She knew Cedric was safe with his father, but what about Tom? Did he have anyone? 

He stayed on her mind for the rest of the night until her eyelids grew heavier and she finally succumbed to sleep. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom finally makes an appearance - though a short one, it will lead to much more. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was still a bit short but oh well. I'm getting the hang of it, I think, lol. 
> 
> Leave some nice comments, questions or concerns if you'd like! They keep me going and help me stay inspired.
> 
> Much love,  
> Sugar <3

**Author's Note:**

> So... thoughts? 
> 
> This was a pretty short chapter, but rest assured! The next ones will (hopefully) be longer. No promises though, I'm awful with schedules and all that. 
> 
> Lol. 'Till next update <3


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